Restaurant

We were to have a new Site Steward join us in our weekly treks into the Cienega.

We were pleased because our partner of many years had retired and now there were just the two of us.

It is an isolated area that we go into; one that is used by illegals on their treks into the US or drug carriers who bring in the illicit drugs.

The area can be dangerous and really, it is very isolated.

Several days before the new Steward was to join us I received an e-mail from him, "Do you take you’re your lunch with you or do you take a break and go to a restaurant?"

I really had a good laugh but I responded sedately, "We take our lunch."

This "restaurant’ bit has taken on a life of its own. We always break for lunch about 11:30.

The best places for our lunch breaks are at the Creek's edge amongst the tall and full Cottonwoods.

But with the summer’s heat and the monsoon upon us, we tend to stay away from the Creek with its possible flash flooding events.

We find shade in the Rail Road concrete culverts!

Last week our large culvert was dated 1914.

"This is the finest restaurant in the area," declared our new Steward!

Appreciation is so appreciated!

　

Finds

When we are out monitoring sites we usually find something not noted on the site card.

Maybe it is an archaic projectile point; or maybe a Hohokam shell bracelet, or even a beautiful turquoise bead!

Usually, not always, we GPS the item and place the info on our card info sheet or at least we take a photo of the artifact.

A crewmember found an archaic projectile point last year - an early one at that: Gypsum 8000 BC. A real find for us, and one that really thrilled our Land Manager. Luckily, we had taken a picture of this rather rare point (rare for the area).

This year we looked for it and the crewmember said she put it next to a stump!

Four of us searched around every stump on the site and there were lots of stumps! – no point to be found!

On another site today we went looking for yet another point found last year. We had a photo of it too-- and some one said that it was next to the stump!

Well this site had no stumps so we decided the stump was next to the point!

Hey! When it is 102° and 5% humidity you make jokes when you can!

Just Another Day

The four of us had traveled a long, winding, dusty dirt road just southwest of Tucson to get to a site we were to record.

We completed recording the huge Hohokam site - sat down for a quick cool off and began wondering if we could get back to the main road another way.

Bruce H. pulled up the topo map on his GPS. Sure enough another dirt road and the route looked shorter!

I started the drive on our ‘new’ dirt road. It was rockier and it was climbing.

We came to a strange rocky area and decided to investigate. We were on a bluff and below us, a lovely valley with a helicopter-way off in the distance.

I said to the crew, “There is a helicopter and they have noticed us!”

“Na. They haven’t. They are too far away.”

We walked about the bluff. There was an adit with a massive chain anchored into a side boulder. The chain extended about 20 feet down into the steep sloping mine entry.

The sloped ramp was full of backpacks, water bottles, clothes and all the other usual illegal immigrant debris. We were on an illegal migrant’s trail!

Small lumps of Chrysocolla, a lovely blue to green mineral usually found with copper, were scattered about our feet.

I looked up and the helicopter really was headed our way.

It was time to be on our way. As we drove we noticed to the side an old miners campsite complete with rusty cans, stove pipe and a rock foundation.

The road was narrowing and becoming too rocky and basically petering out. Time to turn back to the other road.

Now the helicopter was very close and low!

It started to get lower and I could see guns pointed at us!

I said, “Ken open the door and run!” A 'trick' that is often mentioned in our Newspapers regarding illegals in trying to get away. He just grinned at me and we all laughed.

Ahead of us - in the distance - we could see a cloud of dust - heading our way and moving fast.

Now the helicopter was low, very low overhead and circling us.

I kept driving – slowly.

The cloud of dust was upon us - Border Patrol! I pulled off the road to let the vehicle by but it pulled in to block me.

The helicopter kept circling overhead. Guns pointed at us.

I think the Ranger told the helicopter crew we were “gringos” and ok.

They left.

A short chat with the Border Patrol Ranger then we all had a good laugh-- after we showed the Ranger our State Permits!

Class

We had 20 newly trained Site Stewards at a State Park to do extended field training.

We were not able to offer “feature” identification to them in class other than through photos via Power Point presentation so this was an opportunity to expand their archaeological knowledge in the field.

There were 3 of us to do the training and we each took a group. I was doing surface artifact ID, Bill G. from the Forest Service was taking a group to a higher level to show them a ballcourt and waffle gardens (agricultural fields), and Dave M. also from the Forest Service took them to view walls, rooms and other features known to be on site. We each spent about 45 minutes with our group then rotated groups so all could see the various things the site had to offer.

At the end of the session with my last group as I was showing them some artifacts and explaining the need to look at the desert floor for color changes when one Steward said, “Look up! There is someone with a shovel! Felony in progress!”

We looked up from the desert floor and sure enough there was a man about 300 meters from us feverously working with a shovel.

All who had cell phones had them at the ready!

But who to call? We were far away from the other two trainers – they were not in eye-sight nor within earshot.

I said, “Does anyone have Bill’s or Dave’s number?”

Much shaking of heads and “Nope.”

There was great discussion and much consternation over “what to do?”

We just had to wait until we caught up with the other trainers who, by the way, are also trained in Law Enforcement.

When Bill G. approached we told him about the man we saw with the shovel. Bill said he talked to the man and it was a Park worker cleaning the trail. Whew!

One Steward said, “I would never noticed that man and questioned what he was doing had it not been for this training.”

I was so proud of the group and of our training!

New Technology

Advances in virtual technology has a place in Archaeology.


Let's see if I can show you:



http://www.cdarc.org/what-we-do/information/exhibits/vsw_preview


Well this won't let me turn this into a link any longer.


The blogger boys have changed the format recently.


I am sorry. You will have to copy and paste.


I think you will enjoy this site. It is just a preview of coming attractions!


New technology hasn't gotten to the blog!

A Desert Trip

On survey and site assessment, in Pinal County a couple of weeks ago I went down!

I was walking along on level ground.

Someone called my name.

I looked up and the next thing I knew I was flat down.

Literally, face down on the desert floor!

Slowly I did a ‘systems’ check.

Everything moved.

Nothing hurt.

I heard a voice yell out, “Is she breathing?”

“I am ok,” I whispered rather dazed.

Now getting up was another thing.

I couldn’t just get up!

I had to slither backwards on my belly until the “you are clear” was said.

I had fallen between two prickly pear cacti and apparently ‘brushed’ them.

I was covered with cacti thorns: arms, shoulders, thighs, belly and my chin!

It took some doing but we got the thorns out – sorta, mosta!

I was on my way again.

Looking down and

Breathing!

Unbelievable

 We were out in our archaeological monitoring area last week.

Wow! Amazing what a bit a rain does to and for the desert.

So many little vines and tiny plants blooming: the true desert poppies with their bright gold petals, barrel cactus with luscious red and orange flowers, pink trailing 4 o’clocks and the very sweet smelling devils claw (the Tohono o’odham use the seed pod in their basket making).

http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/tucson.html

Some of the trees were in full flower: Sweet acacia and Creosote the most conspicuous. Tamarisk (salt cedar) too with it lovely pink plumes of flowers - a pity this Russian plant is such a scourge in riparian areas. It grows so thick it forms a barrier to wild life. Heck even birds can’t deal with it, and man can’t get rid of it.

Then there were the caterpillars! They were about 3 inches long, yellow and fat. I stopped to watch one as it dug a hole. 

Huh? Caterpillar digging?

Yep! It really was digging. I called my crewmates over to see and we were stunned and mesmerized.

The dig was more like digging a cave or over hang - not straight down but digging horizontally just ¼ inch under the ground. We watched it shove the dirt aside and move into the ‘cave’ (overhang). As we left that caterpillar and moved on we saw more of them doing the same thing.

We should have had video equipment with us so all could view this astounding sight, as we are sure no one will believe us!

Excavation/digging without a permit is a felony offense you know. Hmm-- this would never hold up in court!